NBA Coach Gregg Popovich Torches Cities That Still Honor Columbus: It’s Like ‘Being Proud of Hitler’
Last Friday, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation to commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, an attempt at refocusing Columbus Day. NBA head coach Gregg Popovich praised the proclamation and destroyed those who still recognize Christopher Columbus as an honorary figure in history.
The observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day will occur on the second Monday of every October as a day to appreciate the history and culture of Native American peoples. Biden’s announcement comes after years of public campaigns to reject celebrations of Columbus, considering his violent history.
According to Popovich, Biden’s decision was necessary, but the NBA head coach cannot understand cities, such as San Antonio, which continue to observe Columbus Day.
“He initiated a New World genocide,” Popovich said of the 15th century explorer. “He set in motion what followed, the annihilation of every Indigenous person in Hispaniola, which was Haiti and the Dominican Republic today. He took slaves. He mutilated. He murdered.”
“It’s Columbus Day. That’s why they are off on Monday?” Popovich ranted of local school districts that haven’t adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day. “Maybe there is something I am missing, and I am ignorant. But it makes me feel like they’re living in a phone booth. And they are educating our kids?”
“It’s no knock on Italian Americans. That’s a silly argument,” Popovich continued. “It’s like saying, ‘We should be proud of Hitler because we are German.’ It makes no sense.
“It’s about Columbus. It’s not about Italian Americans. So, there are a lot of states that have come out and scratched Columbus Day and made it Indigenous Peoples’ Day. But in our city, are we that backward that we have school districts that do that? I am amazed. Just amazed.”
The 72-year-old basketball coach who led Team USA to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year has been increasingly outspoken on social and political issues in recent years. Popovich routinely chastised former President Donald Trump for his “embarrassing” tenure in office. An avid supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, Popovich has also highlighted the systemic racism suffered by the Hispanic community.
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